No, as I said, i know what I am talking about, but sorry, I am not going to explain further on a public bulletin board, just because you challenge me. My integrity and the veracity of my statements are pretty well respected on FT and have been for about 13 years. So no, I will not further elaborate on the SRK thing for you.
Regarding Saudi numbers there are a host of numbers that you can go search and review if it bothers you so much. The big difference in Saudi tourism since 9/11 is essentially that Saudi taxi drivers now go on honeymoons, and that they do so abroad, mostly to SE Asia these days, and mostly on cheap packages, this was not much of a market 15 or even 10 years ago.
I get somewhat similar treatment when I return to the U.S. to visit family, and I'm a U.S. citizen. And I'm not suspicious looking.
I get the most unpleasant treatment I get anywhere in the world, when entering the US, and I am also a US citizen. (FWIW, I am a European pretty much every else in the world.) I don't know whether I am suspicious looking or not.
No, as I said, i know what I am talking about, but sorry, I am not going to explain further on a public bulletin board, just because you challenge me. My integrity and the veracity of my statements are pretty well respected on FT and have been for about 13 years. So no, I will not further elaborate on the SRK thing for you.
NP, I just like to have an indication of how seriously I should take things that people might say on various IBB. Your answer has confirmed my suspicions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hfly
Regarding Saudi numbers there are a host of numbers that you can go search and review if it bothers you so much.
Nah, doesn't bother me in the least; it was something that you brought up, I merely assumed that you'd have the data to hand since it appears to be one of your areas of expertise.
In 2000, the year BEFORE 9/11 and with "visa express" in existence, whereby most Saudis had no interview for their visas, less than 69,000 Saudis applied for visas and their approval rating for visas was above 90%, it took on average about a week for them to get visas.
In 2003, the number was something like 20,000 for the year as that was a particular low point, and there was a much higher refusal rate (I cannot find it).
But in 2005 the number increased to around 50,000 issued.
By the end of 2007 the numbers EXCEEDED the 2000 pre-9/11 numbers ad went above 70,000 for the year.
And guess what? In 2011 slightly more that 102,000 visas were issued to Saudis, the approval rate was over 93% and over 75% received them within a week.
This is a number about 40% HIGHER than pre-9/11, the refusal rate is in line with and better than many countries which are not Muslim nor Arab, and the timing is overall than many other places around the World.
Furthermore there are more Saudis studying in the US than at anytime EVER in the past, more Saudis visiting for business and in fact more coming for touristic purposes. What may have been true for a few years 2002-2007 is not at all any longer true.
Last edited by cblaisd; Apr 13, 12 at 7:27 pm..
Reason: Removed personal attack per the TOS
